42.4 F
New York
Friday, March 29, 2024
Home Blog Page 1543

Cuomo at Odds with NY Legislature Over Proposed Tax Hikes

0
Members of the New York State Assembly meet for a legislative session in the Assembly Chamber at the state Capitol. | Hans Pennink/AP Photo

By Rusty Brooks

While the Biden administration is considering the first major federal tax hike in decades, the NY state legislature is looking at similar measures.

Democrats who control the state legislature took another step toward raising tax rates for wealthy New Yorkers Monday, with each chamber presenting its own proposal for this year’s state budget — valued at more than $192 billion, NPR reported.

Governor Cuomo is not thrilled with the idea.

“How you raise revenue can actually raise revenue, or can cost you revenue,” Cuomo said. “If you’re not careful the way you do it, you may actually lose money for the state because businesses and residents will make changes.”

Historically Cuomo has been against raising taxes on the wealthy.

Cuomo has warned that higher taxes could drive the rich out of New York and take their tax revenue with them. The top 1% of earners in New York generates nearly half of the state’s revenue from income taxes, according to state data, NPR reported.

NY Post Summarized the “progressive” tax proposals:

  • A graduated tax hike on millionaires. The current income tax rate for single filers making more than $1 million and couples earning more than $2 million is 8.82 percent. That rate would rise to 11.85 percent. There also would be two new brackets: one for taxpayers earning between $5 million and $25 million and another for those making more than $25 million. The former would be taxed at a 10.85 percent rate, while the later would be slammed with 11.85 percent.

The moves would generate an estimated $4.3 billion, the lawmakers said.

  • A new capital gains tax of 1 percent on those earning more than $1 million a year, boosting state coffers by about $700 million.
  • A new progressive state tax on those with pied-a-terres, mansion town homes — or anything in between — used as a second home in New York City. The new levy would raise a projected $300 million for the state.
  • An estate tax boost from 16 percent to 20 percent, raking in another $130 million.
  • A new 18 percent “surcharge” on corporate franchises, utilities, and insurance companies — which could mean higher bills for customers. That tax would generate $1 billion, the lawmakers said.
  • The reinstatement of a minimum business tax on corporate capital, earning another $150 million for the state.
  • A recording tax on “mezzanine debt and preferred equity investments,’’ which would add another $171 million to state coffers.

Senator Schumer earlier this month claimed that the new COVID stimulus package would essentially wipe out NY’s budget deficit.

Unconscionable: NY Hasidic Men Detained in Germany for More Than 10 hours

0
Dov Hikind, founder of Americans Against Antisemitism, served in the New York State Assembly for 36 years (Americans Against Antisemitism Image)

By Andre Malo

According to the Jewish Rights Group, 16 Hasidic men, including a group traveling from New York to Vienna, were detained at a German airport for more than 10 hours, the New York Post reported.

Assemblyman Dov Hikind, founder of Americans Against Antisemitism told the press that five of the men were first stopped by authorities in Frankfurt on March 7 and detained without food and water, while other Hasidim were “rounded up” and also held

Some members of the group were pulled away and “harshly interrogated,” the release said.

“It’s unconscionable for something like this to happen to innocent people anywhere, but even more so to identifiable Jews in Germany, of all places,” Hikind said in a statement.

“They reached out to share their story with me,” he said. “I can tell you the trauma and pain they suffered is scarring and traumatic, so we are calling on the German government to investigate this appalling treatment of innocent people immediately.”

Officials at the U.S. Consulate in Frankfurt and the U.S. Embassy in Berlin did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Tuesday.

The 16 detainees were eventually allowed to travel to Vienna, but only after denial signatures were signed that cleared the German government of wrongdoing, NY Post reported

According to a video interview released by Hikind’s group, the detained men said the problems began after five New Yorkers were stopped at border control at Frankfurt airport.

“As soon as I handed my documents to the officer, he looked at me, he said to me,‘ Are the five of you together? “He asks,” said one of the men. “I said, ‘Yes.’ And he said we had to step aside.”

“Two more people on our flight will get there,” he said. “They took their papers and immediately told us to stand by them. So we immediately realized that this was a Jewish thing.

“No one (other) was stopped for more than a minute,” he said. “When they saw the document, they said, ‘Next.’ The seven Jews, the Hasidic Jews, were told to stay away.”

The men said they contacted the U.S. consulate while they were in custody and said “they are checking my documents, they may be fraudsters.”

What’s In It for NYC as Biden Signs $1.9T Covid Relief Bill

0
. Photo Credit: AP

By: Ilana Siyance

President Joe Biden signed a $1.9 trillion stimulus package on Thursday.

The federal coronavirus relief package will include about $6 billion in local aid to New York City, $6.5 billion to the MTA, and relief for restaurants, small businesses and entertainment sites. The stimulus passed in the House and Senate despite unanimous Republican opposition.

Mayor Bill de Blasio lauded the package saying, “Take stock of this moment, everyone, because it’s extraordinary,” de Blasio said. “The biggest action by the federal government for the people of this country since the New Deal.”

“There’s funding for vaccines, funding for schools, funding to bring our schools back strong in September, funding to help our restaurants survive and thrive, and the wonderful initiative Save our Stages — which I know was a particular labor of love for Senator Schumer — bringing back Broadway, Off-Broadway, so much of the culture that makes New York City great,” de Blasio said.

As per Patch, eligible New Yorkers can prepare to receive a $1,400 stimulus check, with direct deposit payments starting the week of March 17, and paper checks being sent out the week after. To be eligible, individuals will need to earn $75,000 or less, or single parents earning up to $120,000 and couples with household income of under $160,000. Eligible couples filing taxes jointly can get $2,800, and eligible dependents can also add on $1,400 each. The child tax credit is also being increased from $2,000, to a new max of $3,600 per child under 6 and $3,000 per child between the ages of 6 and 16 for 2021. This will primarily benefit individuals earning under $75,000 a year, or $150,000 as a couple.

The plan also extends federal unemployment payments of $300 per week through Sept. 6. The proposed $15 federal minimum wage increase did not get passed with the bill. The stimulus also targets help for the MTA, helping the agency avoid the mass transit cuts warned against for months. Debt-ridden taxi drivers can also look forward to the taxi medallion relief fund.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo hailed the passage of the “historic” bill. “This legislation confronts the dual health and economic crises created by the war on COVID by providing much-needed relief to lift New York families out of dire economic straits, critical funds to expand and accelerate New York’s growing vaccination efforts and targeted relief for state and local governments,” Cuomo said in a statement.

Central Park’s Delacorte Theater to Present Shakespeare Play This Summer

0
The Public Theater has just announced that Shakespeare in the Park, which plays outdoors at Central Park’s Delacorte Theater will return this summer. Photo Credit: Public Theater Image

By Don Driggers

The Public Theater has just announced that Shakespeare in the Park, which plays outdoors at Central Park’s Delacorte Theatre will return this summer. A statement from the theater reads:

We have spent the last year getting ready. We have been producing new work and preparing a safe return. We’ve grieved, Zoomed, innovated, supported our communities, and connected our city. We’ve gathered brilliant artists to imagine summer under the stars in Central Park and are planning a return of Free Shakespeare in the Park beginning July 5 through August 29, with MERRY WIVES, a fresh and joyous adaptation, by Jocelyn Bioh, of Shakespeare’s MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR directed by our Associate Artistic Director and Resident Director Saheem Ali.

This will not be a traditional production of a Shakespeare classic, it will instead be a “woke” adaption, including a mostly black cast.

“Set in South Harlem amidst a vibrant and eclectic community of West African immigrants, MERRY WIVES will be a celebration of Black joy, laughter, and vitality. A New York story about the tricks of the heart, performed in the heart of the City”, the Public Theater stated in a press release.

The Merry Wives of Windsor or Sir John Falstaff and the Merry Wives of Windsor is a comedy by William Shakespeare first published in 1602, though believed to have been written in or before 1597. The Windsor of the play’s title is a reference to the town of Windsor, also the location of Windsor Castle, in Berkshire, England. It is one of the least acclaimed Shakespeare work by critics and historians.

With “woke” academics targeting all European and American art and culture as racist, there have been efforts to actually stop teaching Shakespeare in High School and University; it comes as no shock that the popular free outdoor theater series, has succumbed to wokeness and moved an English comedy out of Windsor and into Harlem.

Since 1962, over five million people have enjoyed more than 150 free productions of Shakespeare and other classical works and musicals at The Delacorte Theater. Conceived by founder Joseph Papp as a way to make great theater accessible to all, The Public’s Free Shakespeare in the Park continues to be the bedrock of the Company’s mission to increase access and engage the community.

Public theater stated: in partnership with City officials, health and safety experts, and with our theatrical unions, the performance schedule, safety protocols, and free ticket distribution details will be forthcoming over the next several weeks.”

NYC’s Hospital for Special Surgery Gifted $35 Million for Expansion

0
The Hospital for Special Surgery has plans to build a new 12-story waterfront building over the FDR Drive. The $200 million project is the heart of a proposed $300 million modernization of the HSS campus. Photo Credit: hhs.edu

By Hellen Zaboulani

Philanthropist Marina Kellen French has donated $35 million to the Hospital for Special Surgery.

The top rated facility for musculoskeletal health and orthopedics, founded in 1863, will use the gift to undertake an impressive expansion. As reported by the NY Post, the New York institution has plans to build a new 12-story waterfront building over the FDR Drive. The $200 million project is the heart of a proposed $300 million modernization of the HSS campus.

The mini-tower, for which ground breaking is set for October, is slated to add 100,000 square feet of floor space for the hospital and provide more private patient rooms. The expansion will not add any hospital beds, but will increase the hospital’s operating capacity by about 25 percent. Operating rooms will be redone to add efficiency, and doctors’ offices and clinical and research facilities will be reconfigured.

“It positions HSS to do what we do best well into the future. It will allow us to give our patients who come from around the world the very best care through the next set of decades,” said HSS CEO, Louis A. Shapiro, who called it a “transformative” addition to the campus.

The HSS campus already includes over ten buildings on the East River between East 71st and 75th streets. The new 12-story building will connect to the hospital’s existing main building, with a third-floor sky bridge over East 71st Street. The plan received approval under the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, back in the 1990s and already has the needed permits. “We’ve owned the air rights for years and now, we’re finally able to do this,” said HSS surgeon-in-chief emeritus Dr. Thomas P. Sculco. “It will be amazing for our patients, not only for the facilities, but for the views they’ll have over the East River.” The hospital has been eyeing such a project for decades.

Sculco credited Mrs. French for making the dream a reality. “Amazing — it was in the beginning of the pandemic, [when we were] struggling to keep the hospital afloat,” he recalled. “That’s when Marina stepped up and said, ‘we want to make a difference.’ ”

“Marina has been unbelievably generous to us over the years,” Sculco said. “Her foundation’s total gifts to us, including this latest, total over $60 million.” French is vice president of her parents’ foundation, the Anna-Maria & Stephen Kellen Foundation. The tower will also bear her parents’ names.

Emperor’s Mosaic Displayed in Italy After Stint as NYC Table

0
Authorities stand around a 1.5 square meter colorful mosaic dating back to 40 A.D. and belonging to the flooring of Caligula’s lavish ceremonial ships, that was found thanks to a joint police operation in the rooms of a Manhattan house and returned to the museum of Nemi, near Rome, Thursday, March 11, 2021. (AP Photo/Paolo Santalucia)

By: Paolo Santalucia & Nicole Winfield

A looted mosaic that once decorated a ship of the Roman Emperor Caligula and ended up as a coffee table in New York City finally returned home Thursday, as details emerged about the lucky break in the investigation that got it there.

Officials unveiled the mosaic at the Museum of Roman Ships, which was built in the 1930s specifically to house the treasures of two huge ceremonial ships Caligula commissioned in around AD 40. The ships eventually sank and were excavated from the depths of Lake Nemi, in the Alban hills south of Rome, starting in the late 1890s.

The mosaic, a 1.5 square-meter geometric print in rich green, reddish-purple and white stone, was part of an inlaid floor on one of the ships, which were designed and decorated essentially as floating palazzi in a testament to Caligula’s greatness.

It’s unclear when the mosaic passed into private hands or under what circumstances. But eventually it was purchased by a New York antiquities dealer and her Italian journalist husband, who shipped it back to New York and made a coffee table out of it for their Park Avenue apartment.

And there it sat, relatively undisturbed, until Oct. 23, 2013. That night, at the Bulgari jewelry store on Manhattan’s 5th Avenue, marble and stones expert Dario Del Bufalo was giving a lecture and book signing for his new book “Porphyry,” on the rare reddish-purple stone preferred by the Roman emperors, that was attended by New York’s cultural elite.

As he was signing books, Del Bufalo said he overheard two women who were leafing through his book exclaim “This is Helen’s mosaic! This is Helen’s mosaic!’” after seeing a photograph of the work.

“I didn’t understand,” Del Bufalo said Thursday as the mosaic was put on display at the Nemi museum. “There were a lot of art experts and I asked ‘Who is Helen?’ And they told me she is a woman who has a house on Park Avenue and this same mosaic.”

Helen was Helen Fioratti, the antiquities dealer, and soon she would be caught up in the investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, the Italian culture ministry and carabinieri art squad, all of which were hunting down antiquities that had been looted from Italy and ended up in private collections and top U.S. museums.

The Manhattan DA’s office in October 2017 announced it had seized the mosaic and turned it back over to Italian consular authorities, who repatriated it to Italy. It has been on temporary exhibition since then in Italy but on Thursday was returned to the Nemi museum, with the other artifacts from Caligula’s ships.

Fioratti told The Associated Press at the time of the seizure that she had bought the mosaic in good faith more than 40 years earlier while she was living in Italy and had been told it belonged to the aristocratic Barberini family. She was never prosecuted, and decided not to contest the seizure because she believed it would cost too much and take too long.

“It was an innocent purchase,” she said then, adding that the sale had been brokered by an Italian art historian known for his work recovering art stolen by the Nazis. “We were very happy with it. We loved it. We had it for years and years, and people always complimented us on it.”

Del Bufalo said the district attorney’s office eventually asked him to authenticate the mosaic. He said he immediately recognized the round porphyry pieces used, as well as the restoration of a vertical crack.

“When they showed me the photos of the mosaic belonging to this woman who was living in New York, I told them; ‘Yes, it is exactly that same one,’” he said.

  (AP)

Medallion Owners , Lenders Question DeBlasio’s $65M Taxi Relief Fund

0
New York City has unveiled its first concrete plan to aid drivers, who have been ailing amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and before that through predatory loans. Photo Credit: AP

By Ilana Siyance

New York City has unveiled its first concrete plan to aid drivers, who have been ailing amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and before that through predatory loans.

As reported by the NY Times, on Tuesday Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a plan to spend $65 million, from the stimulus funds it is slated to receive from the federal government, to help restructure outstanding loans owned by the drivers. Many drivers have fallen deep in debt from loans that they took out to pay for medallions, or city permits which give them permission to own their own cabs. The city made a lot of money on the medallions, at the expense of the taxi drivers, many of whom became victims to abusive lenders, and exaggerated interest rates.

Their businesses were then battered by competition from ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft. The pandemic was the cherry on top, devastating demand and leaving many of the small cab owners close to bankruptcy. As of January 2021, revenue for the taxi industry was still 80 percent lower than January last year.

City Hall’s plan, named the Taxi Medallion Owner-Driver Relief Fund, will provide up to $29,000 in no-interest loans to each of roughly 3,000 drivers who purchased a medallion for their own cab. “This new plan will be a difference-maker for many, many drivers,” Mr. de Blasio said at a news conference.

The proposal would not be a full bailout— it would still leave drivers in debt, with large monthly payments. On average, most of the drivers owe roughly $500,000 in loans. Still, the deal would help them negotiate with their lenders, and to lower the debt in exchange for a down payment towards the loans. “This proposal recognizes that taxis are a critical part of New York City’s infrastructure, and provides owner-drivers meaningful relief that will help them restructure their loans — lowering their monthly payments and bolstering their economic prospects, while stabilizing the industry,” said a spokesman for the largest holder of medallion loans, Marblegate Asset Management.

The plan also has its fair share of critics, however, who say it does not go far enough. “The mayor’s proposal is a disgrace and fails to deliver the significant relief drivers deserve,” said City Comptroller Scott Stringer, who had recommended a more generous proposal which could forgive more debt using less city money. “There is no excuse not to address the crisis with a real solution. We have the means — we just need the will to meaningfully act.”

NYC Pays $3.2M for Historic Underground Railroad Abolitionist Site in Bklyn

0
The home purchased at 227 Duffield St. in Downtown Brooklyn was once owned by Harriet and Thomas Truesdell from 1851 to 1863. The Truesdells were well-known abolitionists who aided slaves who escaped from the South. Photo Credit: change.org

By: Charles MacGuire

New York City has paid $3.2 million to purchase the former home of two Brooklyn abolitionists who harbored slaves as part of the Underground Railroad. As reported by Crain’s NY, the home purchased at 227 Duffield St. in Downtown Brooklyn was once owned by Harriet and Thomas Truesdell from 1851 to 1863. The Truesdells were well-known abolitionists who aided slaves who escaped from the South. The couple had befriended illustrious personalities including Ralph Waldo Emerson and William Lloyd Garrison. Harriet Truesdell had died in the home in 1862. This 4-story building, originally built in 1847-50, has long been the subject of controversy. There have been at least two major efforts to develop the site.

Last month, the city officially changed the status of the address, marking it as a landmark, to prevent developers from turning it into a high-rise apartment building. Duffield Street has also been renamed Abolitionist Place. As yet, specific plans for the property have not been announced, however, Mayor Bill de Blasio said that the city will be “doing something special” to honor its role in the abolitionist efforts.

“It’s a place where abolitionists risked their livelihoods and lives so that African people who were enslaved could travel safely to freedom,” said Chirlane McCray, NYC’s first lady.

The redone three-unit Greek Revival–style building was almost demolished back in 2007 with plans to develop a public park, but protesters had put up a good fight, leaving the plan in the dust. City officials did end up making Willoughby Square Park, a rare piece of greenery amidst the office and apartment buildings now towering through the neighborhood. Look-alike buildings at 223 and 225 met with the wrecking ball to make way for the park in the south east corner of Willoughby and Duffield.

As per Crain’s, in 2015, Samiel Hanasab had purchased a share in the property at 227 Duffield St for $439,000, then completed the purchase in 2017 for another $149,000. The building was approved for a 13-story, 21-unit development which would have included a 34-car garage. Demolition was slated to be done in 2019, but those efforts too were thwarted.

Activists have argued that the home, which was once part of a hub of African-American culture, is among the only houses left in the area after an aggressive rezoning effort in 2004. This house is being touted as the last remaining connection to the dedicated Abolitionist community active in the area in the mid-19th century.

Columbia U Student Workers Strike After Negotiations with Admin Fail

0
Columbia University campus. Photo Credit: AP

By Serach Nissim

Thousands of graduate students and student workers at Columbia University went on Strike on Monday after hitting a brick wall in negotiations with school administrators again.

As reported by the NY Post, the student workers, which began a union four years ago are stalled in negotiations with Columbia U over the terms of their first student worker contract. The graduate students are requesting higher wages and better benefits citing the rising costs of living. They are also demanding an effective system to probe allegations of sexual harassment or discrimination. Representatives said the Union members will stop working or conducting research for the university until their demands are satisfied.

“For the things that arguably don’t cost the University money, when they deny us those demands, they deny us dignity, and for the economic asks, they deny us literally the material conditions we need to live a livable life in New York City,” said Steven Lazickas, Graduate Workers of Columbia-UAW bargaining committee member. “They pay us starvation wages, so they’re denying us a healthy life and they’re denying us dignity. And that’s why we’re going on strike.”

City Comptroller and mayoral hopeful Scott Stringer voiced his support for the student on Monday. “Two years at the bargaining table is two years too long,” he wrote in a tweet. “Columbia must do right by these workers and students.” In the meantime, Columbia U has threatened to withhold payments for any member who actively participates in the strike, as per a statement from the Graduate Workers of Columbia. In a show of support many faculty members and other students have vowed not to report strike activities, so as to protect the workers from the repercussions. A GoFundMe page has even been set up to compensate strikers from whom payment is withheld. As of Tuesday at noon, the fundraiser has gathered over $66,000 from 1.1k donors.

The university said that the decision to strike come as the talks were making progress, and maintained that the timing is difficult as the university is suffering financial setbacks as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. “The disappointment many of us feel is grounded not only in the significant burden that our campus would be compelled to bear in the event of a strike during one of the most stressful times in the history of students, staff, and faculty at Columbia, but because, after a long period of relative stasis, there has been considerable progress in our negotiations,” wrote Columbia Interim Provost, Ira Katznelson.

‘Amityville Horror’ Killer Ronald DeFeo Dies in Prison at 69

0
Ronald DeFeo Jr., the “Amityville Horror” killer, died on Friday at the age of 69, while serving a 25-years-to-life sentence at Sullivan Correctional Facility in Fallsburg, New York

By Serach Nissim

The killer, who spread dread throughout Long Island, by murdering his parents and four siblings in 1974, has died in prison.

Ronald DeFeo Jr., the “Amityville Horror” killer, died on Friday at the age of 69, while serving a 25-years-to-life sentence at Sullivan Correctional Facility in Fallsburg, New York, as per the state Department of Corrections. As reported by the NY Post, the convicted murderer was transferred to Albany Medical Center and pronounced dead at 6:35 p.m. The cause of his death is not yet known, and an autopsy performed by the Albany County Medical Examiner’s Office will determine an official cause of death.

DeFeo, born in Brooklyn, was convicted of killing his mother, father, two sisters and two brothers inside their Amityville home on Ocean Avenue at the age of 23. He had reportedly used a .35-caliber Marlin lever-action rifle to shoot each of his parents twice, along with siblings Dawn, 18, Allison, 13, Marc, 12, and John, 9—all who had been in bed at the time. His defense lawyer had tried to plea insanity, appealing that DeFeo heard voices telling him that his family plotted against him. The psychiatrist for the prosecution had argued although DeFeo used drugs including heroin and LSD, he did have an antisocial personality disorder, but was aware of his actions at the time of the murders. In 1975 he had been convicted of six counts of second-degree murder, and was given six ‘25-years to life’ sentences.

In a 2006 jailhouse interview, DeFeo had pinned the blame on his eldest sister, claiming incredulously that she had killed the other siblings, and so then he had killed her along with his parents. Their home, in which the bloodbath took place, became the neighborhood haunted house, changing its house number from 112 Ocean Ave to 108 Ocean Ave., in hopes of driving away tourists. A year after the multiple murders, a new buyer purchased the home — but left 28 days after moving in apparently creeped out by the house, and complaining of “strange sounds, voices and green slime oozing from the walls,” as per a report by 6sqft.

The 1977 book entitled “The Amityville Horror” written by Jay Anson, and the subsequent movies made with the same name, were based on the terrors story of the home possessed by evil spirits, and haunted by events too morbid to describe.

Luxury Condo Developer Buys Three UES Properties for $32M

0
EJS Development has purchased three adjacent Upper East Side properties for a total price of roughly $32.4 million, as per property records. Photo Credit: ejsdev.com

By Hadassa Kalatizadeh

EJS Development has purchased three adjacent Upper East Side properties for a total price of roughly $32.4 million, as per property records. As reported by Crain’s NY, the properties at 1303-1309 Third Ave. and 202 E. 75th St., were purchased from Gastonia Properties. The purchase price for 1307-1309 Third Ave. was roughly $13.6 million; 1303-1305 Third Ave. went for approximately $12.9 million; and 202 E. 75th St. sold for around $5.8 million.

The site at 1307-1309 Third Ave. is currently a 5-story multifamily building with 20 residential units. 1303-1305 Third Ave. is now a 5-story mixed-use building with 14 residential units. The property at 75th Street is a 4-story, nine-unit residential building.

EJS does not yet have absolute plans for the Upper East Side properties, said Ted Segal, the company president. He noted, however, that EJS will be a long-term owner, and does not intend to sell its real estate acquisitions anytime in the near future. “The properties’ corner location in the heart of the Upper East Side—an area that we have strong conviction in—is what interested EJS,” Segal said.

Gastonia Properties, run by James Gaston, had also been a long-term buyer. It had purchased 1307-1309 Third Ave. back in 1973; 1303-1305 Third Ave. in 1974; and 202 E. 75th St. in 1972, as per property records. Representatives for Gastonia Properties could not be reached by Crain’s for comment.

As per Crain’s, EJS Development already owns a nearby property in the UES, at 150 E. 78th St. That development will be turned into a condominium with 25 private luxury residences, with Robert A.M. Stern Architects being tapped for design of the building. Prices for half-floor, full-floor, and duplex homes at the building are being listed on Street Easy from $5.5 million to $20 million. The building boasts an impressive rooftop terrace with Manhattan views, 24-hour concierge, and an expansive athletic club including a gym, indoor squash/ basketball court, private training studio, golf simulator and children’s activity room. The development is scheduled for completion this year.

In January 2021, there were 395 investment sales in New York, valued at roughly $2.9 billion. The number of deals is up 26 percent, in comparison to January 2020, and the value is up 11 percent, as per a report from the Real Estate Board of New York. Impressive investment deals which led the way in 2021, include the purchase of 712 Madison Ave by jewelry retailer Graff International, from SL Green for $43 million.

Community Pressure Yields Huge Success in Convincing Stubborn Husbands to Give Wives a Get

0
On Tuesday afternoon, at the office of Mr. Harry Adjmi, a Get was signed and delivered by the bet din from Jonathan Abtan to Michele Amsellem in a controversial case of “he said, she said”. While cases before this one required massive public pressure to achieve this outcome, the Rabbi’s of the Syrian Community and Mr. Adjmi were able to convince all parties to quickly give and accept the bill of Jewish divorce without any preconditions in just a few short days, despite the parties living in different states.

Edited by: TJVNews.com

As momentum keeps building for the incredible movement to free all Agunos, news broke on Tuesday afternoon that yet another recalcitrant husband gave his wife a Get in the #FreeMichelle case, according to a VIN report.

On Tuesday afternoon, Michelle received her Get from her husband Jonathan Abtan. VIN reported that the public is encouraged to keep up their efforts, as positive results come from the public outcry against Get withholding along with the invaluable support for the tragic plight of Agunos.

On Tuesday afternoon, Michelle received her Get from her husband Jonathan Abtan. VIN reported that the public is encouraged to keep up their efforts, as positive results come from the public outcry against Get withholding along with the invaluable support for the tragic plight of Agunos. Photo Credit: VIN

As the Jewish Voice neared its deadline on Tuesday night, it was reported by VIN that rallies are scheduled to take place in both Boca Raton, Florida and in Lakewood, New Jersey on Tuesday evening to exhort Aaron Silberberg to give his wife Devorah a Get.

According to the VIN report, the rumor mill was in full swing on Tuesday afternoon, as Aaron Silberberg himself was busy disseminating egregious propaganda by communicating online that the Siruv from the Beis Din of America against him was cancelled, and that the rallies themselves had been cancelled.

On Tuesday afternoon, Rabbi Efrem Goldberg of Boca Raton sat down with Rabbi Avi Kahan, a well respected Rav from New City who deals with many Agunah issues. Together they recorded a video to dispel these aforementioned rumors, and to explain why the rallies are still very much scheduled to take place, as was reported by VIN.

David Ohayon is well known in the community in which he resides as someone who is attempting to punish his wife by not allowing her freedom to begin a new life.

Also on Tuesday, word reached the Jewish Voice that another man who had adamantly refused to give his wife Esther a get was the focus of demonstrators who had gathered at his home on West 8th Street in the Gravesend section of Brooklyn. The man in question, David Ohayon is well known in the community in which he resides as someone who is attempting to punish his wife by not allowing her freedom to begin a new life.

According to a source who is familiar with the details of the case and who spoke to the Jewish Voice on the condition of anonymity said that Ohayon has a 94-year old mother who is extremely upset by the negative attention that the family has received. “I spoke to Ohayon’s brother and the guy was literally shaking because of the controversy that has been swirling around their family. Ohayon’s brother is extremely worried about their mother and he does not want any coverage whatsoever about this case.”

The brother of David Ohayon said his 94 year old mother is shaken by the pressure being put on the family

On that note, the anonymous source said that thus far, very positive results have been achieved in obtaining Gets for chained women in the Sephardic community because of people in the community who have joined forces in unity and have organized daily demonstrations outside of the homes of those men who refuse to give their wives a get. In addition, the community’s use of social media platforms has been yet another decisive tool in achieving results as the messages are going out far and wide and on a continual basis.

Said the source, “Our rabbis really tried their best to cajole these men into giving their wives a get and while we greatly appreciate the time and energy they put into this, in the end, it appears that these men were more fearful of public ridicule and shame than they were of any rabbinical decree issued against them. “

Last week, the Jewish Voice reported about Jeff Hafif, the man who was arrested on Thursday for severely abusing his wife in the Gravesend section of Brooklyn. He had intentionally withheld a Get (bill of Jewish divorce) for 17 years from his previous wife and finally gave a Get on Sunday morning.

Hafif’s arrest came after a recording was circulated of Hafif verbally abusing his wife and children.

According to comments on the SYAlerts page on Instagram, Yvette Khafif was given her get on Sunday morning after 17 long years waiting for it. The alert said” Just got off the phone with Rabbi Eli Mansour. A get has been given to Yvette Hhafif after 17 years. Thanks to the hard work of Rabbi Shaul Maslaton as well as Mr. Joe Alaham, Mr. Jack Saade, Mr. Edmond Nahum! Thanks to our community – She is a free woman!”

Hafif’s case was also just one out of many cases that are the center of a new but quickly growing movement on social media, in which Jewish influencers are using their platforms to promote and gain public support for Agunos, taking back control of a broken system that has thus far failed to help these victims properly, according to a report on Vois Es Nais. Many of these social media campaigns resulted in public rallies outside the homes of these recalcitrant husbands, effectively creating a social pressure unlike any that had been seen before, according to the VIN report.

A phalanx of NYPD officers arrived at the home of Hafif to make the arrest. Community members became aware of the tragic situation and held a demonstration outside of Hafif’s home, where hundreds of people chanted “Give her a Get!!” and proceeded to throw eggs at the home. They returned for several consecutive evenings to ratchet up the pressure on Hafif to adhere to Jewish law. According to Jewish law and rabbinical decrees, it is permissible and even encouraged to persuade a recalcitrant husband to give his estranged wife a Get.

The message is clear. The community is no longer willing to tolerate Get withholding, and community members are willing to step up and make their voices heard publicly, according to the VIN report.

According to reports, prominent community member, Mr. Harry Adjmi was also instrumental in helping the Get come to fruition. This is at least the second Get Mr. Adjmi was involved with over recent weeks, according to the VIN report. Adjmi was also instrumental in the Get of the #FreeElizabeth movement as well.

The case in point, Elizabeth K., a woman living in Brooklyn, who has been waiting four years to receive her get, got it on Motzei Shabbat. Instagram was particularly effective in this get – because there is a newly empowered group of Influencers on Instagram that arranged an impromptu rally, according to the VIN report.

“People came out of the woodworks,” remarked Avi David, who observed the rally.“The rally was actually planned, but many other women showed up because it went viral on Instagram and everyone’s Facebook page,” he continued.

Commenting on the Hafif get, Rabbi Dr. Noam Weinberg tweeted: BREAKING IN FLATBUSH: Jeff Hafif Gives Wife A Get After SEVENTEEN YEARS As Movement Grows To Pressure Husbands!!! Let’s keep the pressure on and get these women the freedom they deserve! Who is next? @RStomel @skjask

Elizabeth and Evet may have their Get, but much work remains to be done as there are still many women in the community who are still stuck in limbo marriages, according to the VIN report.

The social media movements remain strong, and there are many rallies being planned at this time where community members will come out and offer support in calling for these husbands to finally free their wives, as was reported by VIN.

Sources in the Sephardic community told the Jewish Voice that the issue of men who refuse to give their wives a get was something that they had thought they were immune to. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a well placed source in the community said, “For many years now, we thought the problem of men not giving their ex-wives a get only went on in the Ashkenazic community. If you read the Jewish Press, for instance, you will see that each week, without fail, they present a growing list of men who are in direct violation of Jewish law and rabbinic decisions by refusing to give a get. Despite community pressure, they are adamant about making the lives of the women they were married to and had children with a total nightmare.”

The unnamed source added with indignation in his voice, “How dare these men behave is such a despicable manner. How dare they call themselves Jews and participate in the synagogue and in community affairs. They should hang their heads in shame and the community should continue to place enormous pressure on them until they fully comply with Jewish law.”

According to a web site named Ora, other men have also been served with a seruv for a get but have not complied.

  • David Nachmani and his wife have had a legal divorce since 2007. There is a siruv against him from Beis Din of America. His wife has been an Agunah for 13 and ½ years.
  • Moshe Stern has been separated from his wife Patricia since 1995 – that’s 26 years. Patricia lives in Israel. Moshe Stern moves around all over the place. His last known location, however, was in Boro Park. The Psak against Moshe Stern was from the Rabbanut of Eretz Yisroel, signed by Rabbi Ezra Batzri and Rabbi Benyamin Levy and Rabbi Masoud El-Chadad.

Ora, however, follows the advice of leading and nationally recognized Poskim, according to the VIN report.

“There is a debate among the Poskim regarding the parameters of what defines an improper get me’usa. Ora only publicizes the seruvim issued by the Beis Din and with their authorization to publicize it,” explained Rabbi Yonatan Klayman, Director of Advocacy for Ora.

“It also makes a big difference if we are contacted early on. Ora works closely with the Batei Dinim, the Agunah and their legal representatives to make sure that everyone is on board with the process. The Beis Din generally authorizes publicizing a seruv when, in their view, it would be impossible to obtain otherwise. That’s why pressure implanted thoughtfully,” remarked Keshet Star, CEO of Ora.

Roblox Reaches $45 Billion as Gaming Booms Amid Pandemic

0
Roblox, a gaming platform aimed at children, went public with a boom on Wednesday.

By Hellen Zaboulani

Roblox, a gaming platform aimed at children, went public with a boom on Wednesday.

The share price for Roblox soared to $69.50 on its first day of trading, leaping past a reference price of $45 set on Tuesday. The share price values Roblox at $45 billion, which is up from $4 billion just last year. The company went public in a direct listing, where no new shares were added to the market.

As reported by the NY Times, the Silicon Valley gaming company is reaping the benefits of the pandemic and reflects on how kids have been spending their extra time at home. Video game companies have been rolling in dough. In 2020, a record high of $56.9 billion was spent in the U.S. on gaming, up 27 percent year over year, as per the NPD Group. “The game industry’s swimming in cash,” said Joost van Dreunen, a New York University professor who studies the video game business. “It’s just raining money on these people, on these companies.”

Microsoft reported $5 billion in quarterly gaming revenue for the first time, thanks to sales of its new Xbox consoles. Sony, which put out the PlayStation 5 in November, has reported a 62 percent increase in profits. Other game makers have also been benefiting from the pandemic. With mobile games soaring in popularity, new gaming start-ups have been popping up left and right, with bigger companies buying out game makers. “It seems like there is a new start-up funded nearly every day,” said Evan Van Zelfden, the managing director for Games One, an advisory firm. “Everybody wants to be the next Roblox.” Still, with the COVID-19 vaccination being rolled out, there may finally be some relief for New Yorkers. That may negatively affect the gaming industry. “There’s going to be a lot less time to play Roblox,” Mr. van Dreunen said.

David Baszucki, Roblox’s chief executive and a founder, said in an interview on Wednesday that he doesn’t think they will lose lots of players post-pandemic, when kids can go back to social activities and visiting with friends. “We don’t think we’re going to lose all of that, or all of the amazing people we’ve gathered,” Baszucki said. Last year, about 32.6 million people a day logged into Roblox on average—that’s close to double the average number of users in 2019, the company said. Roblox, founded in 2004 by Mr. Baszucki and Erik Cassel, is not yet turning a profit, but revenue jumped 82 percent to $924 million in 2020.

Goldman Sachs CEO Attracts Criticism for Lavish Lifestyle

0
David Solomon, Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs. Photo: Mark Lennihan/AP

By: Benyamin Davidsons

What good is making it to the top, if you can never live it up?

David Solomon, CEO of Goldman Sachs, is attracting ire from his underlings for his extravagant lifestyle—including trips with the company’s private jet. To be sure, the 59-year-old divorcee has some unusual hobbies, including spinning records as a part-time DJ at nightclubs when not running Wall Street’s top bank. As reported by the NY Post, Solomon has publicly complained that employees working from home is an “aberration” amid the pandemic, and even had unsuccessfully tried to get people back into the office last summer. He griped that the remote work lifestyle is a far cry from the breakneck hours which he logged at Drexel and Bear Stearns while working his way up to exec at Goldman.

The strict demands led his underlings to scoff at the way he seems to be leading his own daily life now. In a recent article in Bloomberg, his rank and file complained that Solomon hardly personifies the sleeping-in-the-office routine that he glorifies. Solomon, who became CEO in October 2018, has reportedly been enjoying escapades to the Hamptons and even the Bahamas- with seven trips to the Islands in just two months with Goldman’s private Gulfstream jet. The company had reportedly reluctantly acquired the jets later in 2018, and it bears custom tail numbers ending in “WS” which stands for Wall Street and also West Street, which is the company’s lower Manhattan headquarter address.

Last summer, Solomon had infamously been DJ for a lavish charitable event in the Hamptons which was probed by the state for having infringed on COVID-19 social-distancing protocols. Solomon also ended up in the news over the summer, when a junior banker approached him to say hello, while they were both lunching in the Hamptons. Solomon had repeated the story continuously point out that underlings were out and about lunching on a work day, though working remotely for safety. Working from home is an “aberration that we are going to correct as quickly as possible,” Solomon had publically said.

Despite the criticism, Solomon has led Goldman to strong financial results even in 2020. He has pursued cost-cutting for the company and dissected executive compensation for other employees, which has led to several high-profile departures for the bank in 2021.

Goldman spokesperson Jake Siewert rejected Bloombergs’ reporting, commenting that Solomon sets a good example. “When he’s away for a weekend, David continues to work, pays for his travel, follows Covid protocols and is back in the office first thing on a Monday morning,” Siewert told Bloomberg.

Lawsuit Accuses 88 NYC Landlords of Housing Discrimination

0
Aaron Carr, Executive Director of Housing Rights Initiative in New York. Photo Credit: Twitter

By: Ilana Siyance

A housing watchdog group has filed a wide-ranging lawsuit in Manhattan’s federal court. As reported by the NY Times, the complaint alleges that 88 brokerage firms and landlords in New York City have practiced discrimination against people using housing vouchers.

The suit, filed by the Housing Rights Initiative on Monday, presents dozens of recorded conversations in which investigators who posed as prospective tenants face hurdles when trying to use Section 8 housing vouchers. Section 8, passed in 1978, is a $22 billion annual program to basically guarantee a rent check from the federal government, in order to support housing for many American families. Over 125,000 households in the NYC use Section 8 vouchers, making it the biggest bulk of vouchers from any other city in America. Many of the users are from minority groups, including Black and Latino. “Our goal here is simple: It’s to get real estate companies to abandon their discriminatory housing practices and follow the damn law,” said Aaron Carr, founder of the Housing Rights Initiative. “They are the gatekeepers of housing and get to decide where families live, where they work and where children go to school. Housing discrimination goes beyond the walls of housing.”

For landlords and brokers, accepting the Section 8 vouchers sometimes comprises of having an inspector check the health and safety of units before renting, as well as other bureaucratic hurdles. Despite those extra strides, however, by law a broker or landlord cannot choose to deny a tenant for using a Section 8. The housing groups and government agencies have been using undercover operations to investigate potential discrimination for years. As per the Times, in one recorded call, a lady posing as a potential tenant had asked if the landlord would accept her section 8 voucher. “If she accept what? Oh, no, she would not,” Harris Philip, an independent broker, had allegedly replied. “She just doesn’t. She wants well-qualified people.”

The suit names 88 defendants comprised of small and large landlords and brokers. Some well-known firms included in the suit are Compass, the Corcoran Group and a Century 21 franchise office in Manhattan. Mr. Philip, an Upper East Side broker, told the Times that he didn’t recall the conversation recorded last year. “I would never say anything straightforward like this because I do consider Section 8 qualified,” Mr. Philip said. “Maybe she rubbed me the wrong way.” A spokeswoman for the Corcoran Group had commented on the suit saying that it takes discrimination seriously and is offering “education and training” for employees and sales agents.

Chetrits Purchase Defaulted Bank Note for Gravesend Property

0
The deal was brokered by Aaron Jungreis, CEO of Rosewood Realty Group. Photo Credit: Twitter

By Ellen Cans

Isaac and Eli Chetrit are the new lenders on a Brooklyn retail property. They have purchased an $18 million defaulted bank note from Signature Bank for 1100 Kings Highways in the Gravesend neighborhood.

As reported by Crain’s NY, the investors plan to use the property as a development site. The property is now a single-story commercial building, and the site offers roughly 20,000 square feet of space, as per city records. It is not known if the Chetrits are planning to foreclose on the building; however that would be the standard acquisition method for developers who purchase discounted loans on properties. The deal was brokered by Aaron Jungreis, CEO of Rosewood Realty Group. Isaac and Eli Chetrit were not reachable for comment by Crain’s, and Jungreis, Signature Bank and AB Capstone declined to comment on the deal.

In May 2018, AB Capstone had purchased the property in partnership with a Jamaica-based limited liability company, along with 2067 Coney Island Avenue from New York REIT for $30.5 million, as per property records. The two buildings in the deal, in which AB Capstone bought a 70 percent stake and the LLC took a 30 percent share, obtained a $21.5 million mortgage from Signature Bank.

Over the last year, Isaac and Eli Chetrit have also been mentioned elsewhere in real estate news. Together with Ray Yadidi of the Sioni Group, the Chetrirs went into contract in February 2020 to sell their building at 15 W. 47th St. in the Diamond District to the ELO Organization for $115 million. Over the summer Developer Jack Elo had tried to back out, reconsidering the purchase amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Eventually, the parties had made the deal, with the ELO Organization buying the 18-story building for a discounted price of $110 million in December. The Chetrits and Yadidi, who had originally purchased the building in 2012 for $62.5 million, had listed their Diamond District properties at 15 W. 47th St. and 22 W. 48th St. for sale back in 2017, hoping to get close to $200 million for them.

Isaac and Eli Chetrit’s firm has also been busy with a development site in Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn, which they purchased over the summer for $15.5 million. They are working on plans to develop a 200,000-square-foot mixed-use apartment building at the site located at 2870 Ocean Avenue. Mr. Isaac Chetrit is cousin with the prominent New York developer Joseph Chetrit, who owns extensive investments across the city, but who is not connected with these transactions.